And this is what I love about Coconut Beach. Back home, I have to be the corporate Silvie, with her life together. Here, I can be Silvie, who tries new things, makes funny memories, and finds myself turning out to be more fun than I thought.
Wilby’s locked in wedding-planning mode. Meanwhile, I’m leaning against the table, drinking a coffee, trying not to stare at Cal. Which is funny, because I’m pretty sure he’s trying not to stare at me. He’s opening up the place and moving with confidence. He has his hat on backwards, and I’ll admit, it’s doing things to me. He lookssohot. He’s wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and he moves like he does this every day. Which he probably does. But he’s definitely nice to look at.
Then he cooks us up breakfast, and I think, yeah, this man is marriage material. Real marriage material.
What happens when you have to get divorced?
Wilby must sense I’m deep in thought as I watch Cal, and he pauses and looks over at me.
“You know...I like this guy for you,” Wilby says cautiously. “I never thought we’d be sitting here over a thousand miles from home and you’d be marrying a bartender, but hey, life is weird. I guess we should just embrace it.”
I laugh. “My father’s gonna lose it. You know that, right?”
“Your father scares the holy ever-loving shit out of me, Silvie. He is going to go ballistic. But he’s not who we have to worry about. Your psycho mom and sister scheming is why you’re literally racing to the altar.”
I can’t wait, I think sarcastically.
Part of me feels bad for my dad. He just wants the company to be solid. Nobody likes this stupid clause my grandmother left in her will. But it’s something we’re all dealing with. I just want a real life. Not a fake one. But if this is what I get right now, I guess I’ll take it. It’s better than the life I was living with Tyler.
I shudder at even the thought of his name.
Wilby watches Cal walk toward us with a tray of breakfast, and he leans closer to me. “If you don’t lock this one down, I swear I will. He cooks, Silverlyn.”
I laugh and stare at Cal dreamily. “Yes, he does.”
Cal sets down plates in front of us like it’s nothing. Eggs, toast, fruit, and bacon.
“Thank you, Cal,” I say as I push out the chair next to me so he can sit by me.
Wilby stares at all the food and back at me. “Okay, but what is seriously wrong with him?”
Cal grabs a pitcher of coffee and returns, sliding into the chair next to me. “What?”
“How are you so perfect?” Wilby shakes his head in disbelief.
Cal chuckles and grabs a fork. “I’m not perfect.”
Wilby turns to me. “Silverlyn. I can’t find anything wrong with him. Neither could our investigator.”
Cal pauses and looks up at him, his fork mid-air. “You had me investigated?”
Wilby looks at him and nods. “Standard practice for marrying a billionaire and my best friend.”
Cal chokes on his food and covers his mouth with his napkin. He looks at me strangely and takes a sip of his water.
Wilby, not reading the room, continues. “We’ve looked. Trust me. Never seen a more honorable member of society.”
I take a bite of eggs and close my eyes for a second. “These are good, Cal.”
“Thanks,” he says as he slides the jelly over to me.
None of us are addressing the elephant in the room Wilby just casually mentioned I’m a billionaire. Which, I’m actually not. Not technically, anyway. My family’s company is worth billions. I have millions, but all in investments and stocks.
It’s not lost on me that Cal hasn’t had any questions about my company or marrying me. We’re both just been going about our lives as if this is perfectly normal. There’s nothing normal about all of this. It’s totally weird.
We eat while Wilby also works on his laptop between bites.
“Okay, I have the wedding all planned out. I think you’re going to like it,” Wilby says. “We keep this quiet and fast. No announcements or social media.”
